I totally agree with the view expressed by Rex Savill, the role of the Portishead Times has been crucial in ensuring that North Somerset Council is held to task over what can only be classed as The Great Cabstand Fiasco". I am, however, not sure if the

I totally agree with the view expressed by Rex Savill, the role of the Portishead Times has been crucial in ensuring that North Somerset Council is held to task over what can only be classed as "The Great Cabstand Fiasco". I am, however, not sure if the paper is fully aware of the significance of the admissions from the council that are printed on pages 1 and 4 of issue of March 1, 2006.Arup's drew up a plan for the Cabstand and this was accepted and implemented by the council, from day one it has proved to be a monumental white elephant, here we are over a year down the road and Mr Schneider and his team of experts are still only "hoping" that yet more changes will work. He goes on to state: "If problems persist then we will consider what can be done within the council's budget constraints in the roads, off of the Cabstand". This is totally unacceptable; it worked before the "improvements", why not now? How many chances will they need to get it right, if they ever do and who is paying for the work resulting from an obviously totally flawed design, certainly not Arup, that only leaves us, the council taxpayers? And now on page 4 we move onto the changes for M5 Junction 19, although it is in the parish of Portbury, this junction causes misery for the residents of both Portbury and Portishead. For five hours a day access to and from the village of Portbury onto the A369 and the M5 Junction 19 is impossible as this is the council approved route to and from Nailsea, Backwell and surrounding areas. We are prisoners in our own village and subject to increased noise and pollution by the Highways Agency on one side with the M5 "improvements" and by the council directing traffic into the village but not planning to allow it out.Nothing in the page 4 article refers to Portbury, reference is made to the A369 and its junction with the motorway roundabout, but only on the Portbury Hundred, what about the Bristol side?As usual promises made by the council to ensure a quick escape from a sticky meeting are quickly forgotten once the escape has been made. I am however reassured by the statement from council spokesman, Steve Makin: "This motorway junction is very different to Cabstand. Cabstand is a pedestrian scheme, whereas junction 19 is a traffic scheme". Can we deduce from this statement that Arup and Mr Schneider are experts on traffic schemes but failures on pedestrian ones?Peter Cooke - Priory Road, Portbury